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Monday, January 2, 2012

Cajun Rotisserie Roast Beef

All good things must come to an
end. My vacation started last year on
Dec 19th, and aside from a couple of calls and emails from work, it
has been very relaxing. Too relaxing
maybe, as my sleep patterns are changed, and I find myself going to sleep and
rising later. Tomorrow is going to be a
challenge for me, and I am sure lots of others, including all the kids
returning to school.

Speaking of vacations, anyone
planning a visit to Mexico will be happy to note that additional airline seats
have already been added, as have cultural events. I have been saying for years that I want to
take a vacation to Mexico, a place Sue and I visited in 1986 BK. I found an amazing travel bargain which had us
stay at the Maria Isabel Sheraton in Mexico City, and her sister property in Ixtapa,
now named the Barcelo Ixtapa Beach hotel.
These were top 5 star hotels, not something we could afford, but listed
in the NY Times travel section for like $699.
It turned out to be a misprint that was missing a digit (price should have
been $1699). The tour company honored
the pricing as I jumped on it and was already ticketed before they noticed
their error. So for 8 days and 7 nights, we were “livin’ la vida loca” = Livin
the crazy life. Oh
yeah, BK = Before Kids !

Mexican government officials are
predicting a surge of visitors to the five southern states that comprise the
country's Maya region. In Belize, which bills itself as "heartland of the
Maya," airlines have committed tens of thousands of extra seats to accommodate
projected interest from foreign visitors. In Guatemala, the country with the
most living Maya, officials predict a 10 percent across-the-board increase in
tourism.

The end of the world, it turns
out, is marked by an economic boom.

"2012 will be a momentous
occasion, not only for Belize's large Maya population, but for all
Belizeans," said Yanick Dalhouse, the Belize Tourism Board's Director of
Marketing. "Given the amount of interest we're seeing from around the world,
it's generating global excitement as well." Dalhouse is referring to the year
2012's significance as the end of the Maya Long Count calendar, a 5,125-year
period of time which ends exactly on Gregorian calendar date December 21, 2012,
the winter solstice. The date was inscribed in stone 1300 years ago near
modern-day Tabasco, Mexico and its actual significance is debated among
academics and theorists. There are hundreds of books on the subject and
probably hundreds of theories, but the implication for Guatemala, southern
Mexico, and Belize is clear and immediate: more visitors.

Luna 1 became the first ever
man-made object to reach the escape
velocity of the Earth (what is also known as the second cosmic velocity),
when it separated from its 1472 kg third stage. The third stage, 5.2 m long and
2.4 m in diameter, traveled along with Luna 1. On 3 January, 3:56:20 Moscow Time,
at a distance of 119,500 km from Earth,[5] a
large (1 kg) cloud of sodium gas was released by the spacecraft, thus making this probe
also the first artificial comet

I read in the paper today that
China plans to land a man on the moon by 2016, and they plan space stations,
and freight carrier missions. I sure
hope the USA has not lost their way as leaders and innovators. The space race is not over…

Back on earth we enjoyed a Cajun Rotisserie
Roast Beef that was out of this world.
Recipe – 1 Roast Beef, Cajun Seasoning, Grill. First 12 minutes at 500
F, additional 20 minutes at 375 F. Let
roast rest for 10 minutes. Slice thin
and serve with potatoes and veggies.

Thanks for the comments. Keep them coming.Karen - It was a small roast beef, and believe it or not, it cooks in less than 40 minutes most of the time. Guessing about 10 mins/lb. Will have to try a bigger roast one day. The thing to remember is that the meat continues to cook for about 10 mins even after removing from the grill.